Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To advise Deputy Dooley, it would be a major mistake to start a new company by telling it that it would be underwritten and that it would have a pile of money as a safety net if something went wrong. One way to ensure that a commercial venture fails is to tell it that it does not need to succeed. We must put it up to Shannon Airport to succeed on a commercial basis. It can do it.

The Deputy mentioned balanced regional development. The Shannon Foynes Port works on a commercial basis in the region, as does Galway Port. The west is not such a basket case that it cannot be a commercial success. We should aim for commercial success as a starting point. There is a risk in even suggesting otherwise or in giving people licence not to succeed by putting in place safety nets, subventions, etc.

I compliment the task force on its work. I appreciate the phenomenal pro bono work of Ms Hynes and Mr. John Fitzgerald, the chairpersons.

Shannon Airport is predominantly a passenger airport and will continue to be so. We hope to regain some lost business in terms of passengers and aviation firms, but the discussions with the businesses in question are commercially sensitive and I cannot go into them in detail.

See this speech in context